In most strategy games when things start to go wrong it’s normally fairly obvious why, or in the very least if you go back to a replay you’ll be able to figure it out. In Wargame there is very little feedback, so figuring out why your unit of tanks was destroyed by an enemy unit of tanks is often hard. Of course, knowing the stats or at least having some idea of the real-world capability of most of the units helps, letting you recognize the real heavy-hitters, but even than most of the time when I lose men I don’t really know why. I’m sure that there are lots of players who enjoy the challenge of working out what went wrong, but for many I can see that this could be infuriating.
These problems figuring out what went wrong are compounded by a multiplayer community of hardened veterans who have basically already been playing this game for several years. Unless you are one of these veterans venturing online can be a harrowing experience, at least initially. The multiplayer systems are excellent however and all the more appreciable once you get the hang of things. The deck-building system from the previous games returns with some minor improvements, giving you a good deal of control over the units to bring to the field.
This deck-building component is one of the best things about wargame and always has been; it’s a shame that it isn’t as much of the singleplayer experience, only showing up in offline skirmishes rather than the campaign. With this system it’s easy to make forces composed purely of single nationalities or to theme your forces in other ways: airborne infantry, heavy armored columns and artillery companies to name but a few possibilities. While a balanced force is generally the most effective there is a lot of fun to be had messing around with quirkier builds, with airborne infantry my personal favorite.
Wargame Red Dragon is a game which is perfect for its core fans, those who will almost certainly already have bought it. For new players there’s a lot to recommend with a large singleplayer comment and an excellent multiplayer one – if you’re willing to learn. Newcomers only need apply if you’re willing to watch a plethora of gameplay videos and accept the inevitable string of early defeats while you get up to speed. Despite this Wargame Red Dragon is easy to recommend as one of the strongest and most distinctive real-time strategy games around.
